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Wednesday, September 18, 2013

For the love pete. Or Gus. Or whatever

Ugh. Horses. Just when you let yourself think that all the money that you spend and all the things that you do are justified and perfect decisions.

They end up having an abscess.

Yup.

Gus, who oh-so-charmingly didn't flinch at the hoof testers when he first pulled up lame(well, lamer) is currently in the process of blowing out a huge abscess that has most likely been the culprit all along.

Farrier found the edge of it yesterday during a trim, and upon exploring it's hovering right between his bars and heel, with a very ouchy region a little closer to his toe.

So, aside from the three (3! tres!) vet visits to initially diagnose, then ultrasound, THEN follow up, it turns out nothing has gotten better partially because he's been all hopped up on anti-inflammatory drugs the entire time.

cue loud, angsty wail as I beat my head against my desk.

So Gus got his hoof packed and wrapped and since we were part way through his trim, he's currently bare upfront and waiting for the squishy gross pocket of goo to resolve itself before we tack shoes back on.

Hopefully he's feeling better by the end of the week and we can proceed with life as normal.

Twit.

Here's a pic of the bit that's exposed now..

please forgive the HORRID feet. They are so much better than they used to be, but I still cringe a bit when I see them

Black bit marks part of the void that we can reach without digging around

New Kid

Windsor is a 2008 Selle Francais who we brought home in late 2015. Previously he was an approved stud and made the rounds (slowly) at 1.40m. With his chill brain and cute jump we're hoping he'll enjoy learning how to do the Hunters.

Windsor

Windsor

The Big Mare

Prairie is a 2005 Elite Hanoverian Mare (Londonderry/Weltmeyer). She's had two beautiful babies and early success in the Dressage Ring, followed by our foray into the Hunters. Now retired, she is back to making babies, first one scheduled for 2017!

Prairie

Gus!

Gus is a fan favorite. An older Trakhaner with DDFT injury that sidelined him from his H/J career, he is a noble gentleman who is worth his weight in gold. After some love, rehab and lots of kisses, Gus moved on to his forever home in MI where he has a beautiful farm to call home and a girl to shove him full of treats.

Pia

Pia is a 2003 Hungarian Warmblood who reintroduced me to horse ownership as an adult. We spent four years together exploring everything from Dressage, to Mountain Trail, to a false Wobbler's Diagnosis and beyond. She's a very clever mare and is currently learning how to event with her new mom.

Cliff Notes:

This blog started as a record of treatments, setbacks and general adventures with Pia, my little red mare back in 2010.

In late 2011, Prairie joined the team, with the idea of being the horse to get me back in the show ring. Initially I was pretty sure this would be the Dressage Ring, but both of us stumbled into Hunter Land and had a great time exploring a new discipline together, ultimately finding lots of success.

Gus showed up in early 2013. We adopted him hoping to find a suitable job and he has since found a forever home and girl of his on in MI!

Windsor is the current main man. a 2007 Selle Francais, he jumped around the 1.40m in Europe but was a little...slow. So now he's trying his hand at the Hunters and helping me learn how to move up.

About Me

These days I seem to spend most of my time working a little and playing a lot. I value my time with good friends spent in restaurants, bars, boutiques and everything else a decent sized city has to offer. I cherish knowing a city inside and out almost as much as I enjoy escaping it to someplace with no cars and hardly any people. Horses take up a chunk of time, as does coaching.. It's a good life.